Foreign Affairs

Dhaka, Oct 12 (UNB) - Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Masud Bin Momen has said Bangladesh believes that rights of the children can be best protected by ensuring their education and healthcare, among others.

“Our government has been working relentlessly to deliver the required services to children even at the far-flung areas,” he said.

The Ambassador was addressing the General Debate of the third committee of the 73rd Session of the UNGA on ‘Promotion and protection of the rights of children’ at the UN headquarters on Wednesday, said a press release on Friday.

He said the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is committed to the wellbeing of women and girls particularly.

“Next year we shall be observing the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. At this important juncture we need to review what the international community has done so far and what more needs to be done in implementing the SDGs related to children,” said Ambassador Momen.

He said their vision impaired students are receiving braille books. “We are extending education services to the Rohingya children in the camps in Cox’s Bazar. This has been duly noted in the report of the Secretary-General,” he said.

Due to government’s determined efforts in increasing social awareness and ensuring law enforcement, child marriage is gradually reducing, said the Ambassador.

He said Bangladesh has developed action plans which focus on access to information for children and adolescents about sexual and reproductive health rights and services.

As the original proponent, Bangladesh expected the Migration Compact to be the guiding documentfor protecting the rights of migrant and refugee children and for guarding against trafficking in persons, he said.

“In our continued effort to address violence and oppression against women and girls, we have established One-Stop Crisis Centersall over the country; we have set up many other facilities including Victim Support Centres, National Toll free 24/7 helpline, Mobile Apps and a national database,” he added.

Dhaka, Oct 11 (UNB) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Myanmar authorities to immediately release without charge three journalists from Eleven Media Group arrested on Wednesday.

Eleven Media's executive editors Kyaw Zaw Lin and Nayi Min, and chief reporter Phyo Wai Win handed themselves over to police after the Yangon Regional Government accused them of causing "fear or alarm to the public" for a story that published "incorrect information" according to news reports.

A court ordered the journalists to remain in custody and they were taken to Insein prison, according to CPJ.

Separately, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of the civilian government, stated in an interview that "there is a lot of press freedom in Myanmar."

Despite high hopes for a more open press freedom environment as Myanmar began its transition to democracy under Suu Kyi, CPJ has documented how it has instead backtracked.

Last month, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years each in prison.

Dhaka, Oct 11 (UNB) - The Australian High Commission in Dhaka on Thursday acknowledged the leadership of Bangladeshi girls’ and women in different sports in celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child 2018.

The Australian High Commission’s Chargé de ’Affairs Penny Morton hosted the event and presented female sports champions with a certificate to honour their leadership in sports.

Morton said, ‘On the International Day of the Girl Child, we are here to acknowledge the achievements and special efforts girls have made through sport internationally and in Bangladesh.

She said, “Let’s pave the way for our daughters as we do for our sons. There should not be any disparity in sports, nor in the workplace, nor in life between men and women. Women and men should be seen as, and treated as, equals in all respects.”

Around 50 girls from BRAC adolescent clubs also participated in the celebration and took part in the “Motivational Clinic” where the sports girls shared stories of their achievements and how they have overcome their challenges.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment is a priority for Australia at home and oversees, said the High Commission.

Australia is committed to working with the international community, and civil society, to advance the rights of women and girls across the world.

Also in the eighth issues of the magazine “Young”, the well-known poem of Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore “My golden Bengal”, which became the national anthem of Bangladesh, was also published.

Three translations of the work into Belarusian by the State Prize winners of the Republic of Belarus Mikola Metlitsky, poetess and translators Maria Kobets and Naum Galperovich were also published in the issue.

On the pages of the almanack, there is also an article about the work of Kazi Nazrul Islam, titled “Songs - crippled birds: Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh”.

Dhaka, Oct 10 (UNB) - The World Mental Health Day 2018 was observed on Dhaka University (DU) campus through different programmes including discussions on Wednesday.

This year's theme of the day is ‘Young people and mental health in a changing world’.

Marking the day, DU Educational and Counseling Psychology (ECP) department and Students Counseling and Guidance Service Office jointly set up a stall in front of Teacher-Student Center (TSC) to provide free mental services to the people.

DU Vice-chancellor Professor Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated the stall while Students Counseling and Guidance Service Office director Mahjabeen Haque and Educational and Counseling Psychology department teachers, students and officials of the university, among others, were present at the programme.

“Around 25 percent people and 10 percent children of our country are suffering from mental disease. But we don’t give emphasis on it like other diseases,” said the VC.

Urging the youth, the VC also said, “We must increase awareness against mental disease among the people to ensure proper development of our country; otherwise the development would be hampered. The youth can play a vital role to raise awareness against it through social media.”